


strong and sudden and cruel sometimes

by wantisamlindyla



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: El & Will Friendship, F/M, Gen, Growing Pains, Hopper knows it too, Mike is way too smart for his own good, Mileven, One-Shot, Summer Love, party goes to the fair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 02:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14346501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wantisamlindyla/pseuds/wantisamlindyla
Summary: Last year during summer El had been stuck in the cabin with only a noisy fluttering fan for company and the summer months had dragged on endlessly.For El, who had grown up in a temperature controlled windowless room with neat rows of white tiles and to whom things like the wind, sunshine, rain and snow had only been concepts she had read about in storybooks, the relentless heat and humidity had been almost unbearable._______A collection of memories from El's perspective during the summer of 1985.





	strong and sudden and cruel sometimes

**Author's Note:**

> This started off as just a fun little one-off about the party going to the fair and somehow turned into this humongous angst ridden story about El learning how to have fun. I have to give props to all the amazing summertime fanfics and their authors on this site and on Tumblr. There are so many excellent stories out there about the kids’ summer holidays that I think this might come off as derivative or repetitive, but I hope you enjoy it anyways. 
> 
> If you haven’t already go read ArtemisRae’s fic End of Watch where the party heads to Steve’s for a pool party. I shamelessly stole the idea of a resigned Steve cooking burgers for the kids while they hang out in his pool because it is so fantastic it should be considered fanon. 
> 
> Also credit to monroeslittle who’s work, in a storm (we'll find some light), made me cry. I’ve read it so many times I think I unconsciously tried to emulate her style of writing for this little story. 
> 
> A million eggos and mileven kisses to Lia for staying up late to beta-read this for me even though she must be crazy busy with thesis work. Go check out her adorable story He Wants to Know.

**1985**

 

Hawkins was experiencing a record breaking heat wave, according to the weatherman on the news. 

 

Last year during summer El had been stuck in the cabin with only a noisy fluttering fan for company and the summer months had dragged on endlessly. 

 

For El, who had grown up in a temperature controlled windowless room with neat rows of white tiles and to whom things like the wind, sunshine, rain and snow had only been concepts she had read about in storybooks, the relentless heat and humidity had been almost unbearable.

 

Some days, after Hopper had left for work and the temperature climbed steadily, she had lain on the floor of the cabin (the doors and windows tightly shut) next to the noisy fan struggling to breathe. 

 

But then the day would pass, the sun would set, the sweat on her skin would cool, and Hopper would come home, sometimes with a tub of ice cream or ice cold sodas, asking her how her day had been before rumbling sympathetically and affectionately tousling her short hair. 

 

This year though, summer had been different. 

 

Hopper had come home one day in May to tell El he had bought a home for them closer to town and that they would be moving from the cabin to live there, permanently. 

 

El had been surprised, her dinner lay forgotten on the table between them as she contemplated the idea of living somewhere that wasn’t the cabin, which was quiet and safe (even if it had started to feel like a new prison last year) and was the first real home she had known. 

 

Hopper must have been able to read her expression, he reached over and chucked her under the chin. 

 

“Hey, what’s with the long face? I thought you’d be over the moon to get out of here. It’ll be great, you get your own bathroom, you won’t have me snoring right outside your bedroom every night anymore, it’s got air conditioning, and, you’ll be closer to your friends.”

 

At this, El immediately perked up, “Closer to Mike?” 

 

Hopper had rolled his eyes and took a sip from his beer. “Well I’m on a public servant salary so it’s not next to the Wheelers’ place but it’s closer than you are now. The kids won’t have to ride their bikes all the way out here anymore every time they visit. Actually, you’ll be closest to Will.” 

 

El liked Will. 

 

Hopper had taken her with him to the Byers’ for dinner after the gate had been closed. El had a feeling it had been Joyce who had talked Hopper into it, because during dinner she’d piled up El’s plate with pasta, salad and bread and shot Hopper recriminating looks when El told her most nights, she prepared dinner for her and Hop with the microwave. 

 

After that the dinners became a weekly event. Sometimes the boys and Nancy were also there, and she and Mike held hands under the table during dinner. But most of the time, it was just Hopper, Joyce, Will, Jonathan and her. 

 

Jonathan was nice. He was quiet, like her. And he let her and Will rifle through his cassette tapes and look at his books. 

 

The best thing about those dinners, other than the home cooked meals, was just sitting in Will’s room after dinner while Hopper and Joyce smoked and talked in the kitchen. El would watch him draw or listen to him tell her about the boys’ most recent campaign or what had happened at school that week. If silence fell, she’d return to her book and they both sat there quietly, content to just be close to each other. 

 

The thought of living close to Will cheered her immensely, and her curiosity overrode her concerns and she started to pepper Hopper with questions. 

 

Hopper said they would move in a few weeks’ time. He had already told some people at the Station that he had met his daughter, Jane, only last year and that she was now coming to live with him in Hawkins. He told them he hadn’t known about his daughter until last year but her mom couldn’t look after her anymore so she would be living with him from now on. 

 

Hopper said the hardest lies to catch were those which aren't actually lies. Tell the truth as much as possible, but leave a false impression and the person would fill up the gaps on their own.  

 

They moved into their new home just before summer started. 

 

Her new room was easily twice the size of her old room at the cabin. The wallpaper was covered with big yellow flowers and there were two windows facing the street. 

 

She even had her own bathroom which was covered in pink tiles. 

 

She barely had enough furniture to fill up the room. After she’d finished unpacking the boxes, taking out the few toys and books she had accumulated over the past two years and stacking it on the shelf and on her new bedside table, the room felt too big and too bare. 

 

Later that night she fell into bed exhausted. 

 

The new bedroom was unfamiliar, her window was open and she could hear the late night news playing on the television next door. She tensed a little every time a car passed by the house. She missed the deep still silence of the woods. 

 

Hopper came in after a while to kiss her forehead and say, ‘Night kid,” the bristles of his beard scratched her skin. The scent of cigarettes and soap on him was comforting and familiar. 

 

As she started to drift off to sleep, the thought came to her that the cabin had just been a place where she’d lived, it hadn’t really been her home. 

 

***

As the days passed the heat that El was dreading returned with a vengeance. 

 

However, this year she wasn’t stuck in the cabin with only fan and the television for company, these summer days were filled with _ noise.  _

 

There were trips on the back of Mike’s bike to the arcade and afternoons filled with the boys and Max yelling over each other’s shoulders while they played games.   

 

There were arguments, swearing, laughter and jokes El didn’t really understand over ice-cream sundaes and milkshakes. 

 

There were fireworks, a parade, and music on the Fourth of July. 

 

There were multiple trips to the Hawk to see Back to the Future, and fighting over popcorn in the cool dark cinema. 

 

One day they went to the quarry to swim. 

 

El sat on the shore with Mike and watched the boys and Max play chicken in the water. 

 

Will sat on Dustin’s shoulders and Max on Lucas’ trying to wrestle as they shrieked and laughed. El felt something twist inside her at the sight of Max’s long red hair falling over her freckled shoulders and the way she seemed to fit right in with the boys’ noise in a way that El did not. 

 

She wasn’t sure how to be around Max. 

 

They treated each other cordially when they were with the party, but they both seemed to make a conscious effort never to be left alone with the other. 

 

They were like two satellites, caught in the gravity of the party, coolly orbiting the boys without ever coming into contact with the other. 

 

But there were times, for instance when the boys got caught up arguing over time travel theory in Back to the Future, her and Max’s eyes would meet and El could see her own exasperation mirrored there. In those moments El had felt something like regret that she didn’t accept Max’s outstretched hand the night they met. 

 

She looked over at Mike who was sitting next to her and inspecting his sun-burnt shoulders with resignation. He sighed and said, “My Mom’s going to kill me.” He pulled his t-shirt over his reddened torso. 

 

Mike had gotten so so tall over the past few months. He hadn’t cut his hair for a few months and the ends were curling from being in the water and the heat. He lay back on his towel with a wince. El followed him, lying down on her side with her head propped up on her elbow, she was so close she could count every freckle sprinkled on his nose and cheeks. 

 

“El?” 

 

“Yes?” 

 

“My mom asked if you could come over for dinner next week.” 

 

“With the party?” 

 

“No, just you.” 

 

El pondered this for a moment and before asking Mike why she was invited to dinner and the rest of the party were not. 

 

Mike looked a bit sheepish and ran his fingers through his messy curls. “It’s Holly’s fault. Remember the other night when we were saying goodbye on the stairs?” 

 

“Yes?” 

 

“Holly went and told Mom last night that she saw us kissing. So my Mom turned it into a big deal and asked me if you were my girlfriend and started grilling me about how long we’d been dating and all this embarrassing stuff. Then she made me invite you over for dinner next Saturday.” 

 

“Why does she want me to come over for dinner?” 

 

Mike shrugged, “I dunno, to get to know you better I guess?” 

 

She’d been over to Mike’s house for a few times with the party. They’d all stayed in the basement watching movies and Mike’s mom had only occasionally come down to ask Mike to go upstairs and help her with snacks. 

 

Hopper always came to Mike’s house to pick El up even though the rest of the party was staying over for a sleepover. El had made sure to thank Mike’s mom for having her over and Mrs. Wheeler had smiled warmly and said she was welcome anytime. 

 

When El had asked if she could stay over at Mike’s house next time Hopper had looked at her sideways and said flatly, “Nope.” 

 

El had asked why. Hopper had replied, “Because I’m not letting my teenage daughter sleep over at her boyfriend’s house that’s why.” 

 

El had pointed out that Max was allowed to sleep over. Hopper had said, “Yeah well, Max’s parents don’t know that Wheeler once managed to convince Max and the others to take an illegal joyride in her brother’s muscle car and climb into monster infested tunnels to set them on fire.” 

 

“He did that to help us!” El had said crossly, annoyed at Hopper’s implication that Mike was dumb or reckless when in fact, Mike was very smart, brave, loyal, kind, and cute, he was very cute-

 

Hopper had only sighed, “Look El, I don’t tell Max’s parents how to look after their kid and they don’t tell me how to parent you. No sleepovers at Mike’s.” 

 

Later that night as she was trying to fall asleep El thought about Mrs. Wheeler’s invitation to dinner. On Days of Our Lives, when the Hortons hadn’t approved of Don’s girlfriend they had plotted ways to keep Don away from Marlena. 

 

With a sudden start of alarm, El thought of Mrs. Wheeler’s always perfect hair and clothes and her tidy home that looked like it was straight of a magazine. 

 

What if Mrs. Wheeler asked El a question that she couldn’t answer? What if she answered wrong? What if Mrs. Wheeler decided El wasn’t smart enough, or she looked too much like a boy, or that she was just too odd for her son? What if she told Mike that he wasn’t allowed to see her anymore? 

 

***

 

The party had gone to Steve’s house for a pool party a few days later when the temperature soared into the high nineties. 

 

Dustin had said that Steve’s parents were away on a business trip and that Steve would be cool about it. 

 

In actual fact, Steve had been annoyed, but he’d still let them in and turned on the outdoor grill to make them hotdogs and burgers while Dustin started a belly flopping competition. 

 

El’s tummy was still sore hours later when the sun started to set. 

 

She wrapped a towel around herself and made her way towards the house in search of Mike who had gone inside for a soda. 

 

She was about to step into the kitchen when she realised Hopper was there in the kitchen and that he was talking to Mike. 

 

“-risk, if they recognise her-” 

 

“I can handle it. I can manage my parents. Nancy will be there too. I’ve already talked to her about it. If they start asking too many questions Nancy’s going to tell them that she’s thinking about not going to college to distract them.”

 

Hopper groaned, “Jesus, I feel for your parents kid.” 

 

Mike ignored this and told Hopper, “Nancy also said that she and Jonathan can take us to the fair this weekend. El’s never been before right?” 

 

“You know kid, this trick you keep using on me isn’t going to work forever.” 

 

“What trick?” 

 

“The guilt trips. El’s never been camping before, El’s never been to the fair before, El’s never seen the same movie three times in a cinema before. And you can quit badgering Joyce about getting me to agree to let El stay over at Will’s place.” 

 

“I just...you know, I just want her to get to do everything, to be happy. She never really laughs you know. She tells me she’s having fun, but I’m not sure if she really is or not.” 

 

“She’s not like you or me kid, she’s different. All this is new to her, you have to give her time to find her footing. Her happiness is not on you, it's not your burden to bear. ” 

 

El slipped away silently, not wanting to hear anymore. 

 

***

 

“C’mon El, lunch is ready.” El leaned down to kiss her mother’s soft cheek before heading to the doorway where Hopper was hovering.

 

El had come back to visit her Mama six times since her first visit last November. She came with Hopper now, instead of with nice men in big trucks, and usually on a Saturday afternoon.

 

Hopper had stopped at a gas station on the way in today, so El could buy a bunch of flowers for Mama. The bunch of bright yellow daffodils were resting in a glass jar on the table near the TV (“So she can look at them everyday,” Aunt Becky had said).

 

Mama had not spoken to her since El’s first visit, even when El visited her in the void. 

 

El used to do that a lot, sometimes during the weeks they didn’t visit, El would visit her mother in the void.

 

She wanted Mama to look her in the eyes again and say, ‘Jane,’ like she did before, but she never did.

 

El knew Mama was there though, and that she knew when El was there.

 

Sometimes, when she visited she brushed Mama’s hair or just sat quietly with her mother and watched TV.

 

Most of the time though, El would talk. She told Mama how she had visited Hopper at the police station for the first time last week and how Ms. Florence had hugged El and told El she was such a pretty girl. 

 

She told Mama how excited she was to be starting school with her friends soon, and all about the pool party and that tomorrow, she and her friends were going to the County Fair. 

 

Sometimes she whispered in Mama’s ear secrets about Mike that she told nobody else. 

 

She told Mama that she and Mike had gone to see Back to the Future at the movie theater again, but because she had already seen it two times (three times for Mike) and because it was just the two of them, they spent the entire movie kissing in the back row of the theater.

 

Today, she also told Mama that Mike had asked her to come for dinner to meet his parents, and that she was scared to meet Mike’s parents because she was worried about saying or doing something wrong and they would know that she was  _ different  _ and that she wished Mama could meet Mike and that Mama would love Mike because he was her best friend in the entire world.

 

The visits didn’t last too long since it was a long drive back to Hawkins. 

 

After about an hour she’d join Aunt Becky and Hopper in the kitchen. Then after lunch it’d be time to go home. 

 

El padded into the next room to find Aunt Becky waiting. “I’ve fixed the hem of that skirt for you sweetie.”

 

El had been worried her Aunt would be angry at her for stealing money from her purse and running away without a word. But all Aunty Becky had done when she saw El again was give her a big hug. 

 

“I was so scared I’d never find you again Jane.”

 

El had hugged her back surprised at the rush of emotion she felt at seeing her Aunt again, she who had offered her a home with her so readily, and forgiven her just as quickly.

 

During that visit, while holding Mama’s and Aunt Becky’s hands, she had explained that she wanted to stay in Hawkins with Hopper and Mike and her friends. Aunt Becky had simply nodded, hugged her again, and made her promise to visit often.

 

El took the bundle of clothes her Aunt had finished mending and placed them carefully in her backpack. “Thank you.”

 

Aunt Becky made them real mac and cheese (not out of a box) for lunch which El washed down with ice cold root beer while they chatted about El’s trip to the county fair tomorrow. 

 

Aunt Becky slipped El twenty dollars as they were leaving and told her to have a good time at the fair tomorrow. 

 

El waved at her from the window of Hopper’s Blazer as Hopper backed out of the long driveway. 

 

El was leaning her head against the car window, feeling tired and sad, the way she usually felt after visits to her mother when Hopper asked, “You okay kid?” 

 

El didn’t answer. She had been thinking about what it would have been like to grow up in that house with Mama and Aunt Becky and whether she would have grown up to be normal and known how to laugh when she was supposed to. 

 

El conjured up in her mind, a version of herself who hadn’t grown up in a lab, who talked without having to carefully think about her words, laughed without reserve and knew all the right things to say to Mrs Wheeler to get her to like her without having to lie or leave false impressions. 

 

El felt her chest grow heavy and her throat felt scratchy, like she needed to cry. 

 

She hated that fake El, that El who was better than her in every way, that El who was a normal girlfriend that Mike didn’t have to worry over and would probably never get sick of when she became too much of a burden for him to bear. 

***

 

Hopper dropped her off at the Wheelers early the next morning before leaving for the station. 

 

Mrs. Wheeler had opened the door for El and her greeting had been different than usual. Instead of directing El to the basement she steered El to the kitchen and poured her a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and asked her questions like how she was liking Hawkins so far and whether she liked meatloaf and what kind of pie was her favourite. 

 

El was rescued by Mike barrelling into the kitchen and ushering her to the basement before she could admit that she had liked Mrs Wheeler’s meatloaf very much when Mike had brought her some during her stay in the Wheeler’s home but she didn’t like pie that much and preferred eggos.

 

“So are we clear on the plan? We check out sideshow alley first, then deep fried boulevard, then there’s the afternoon pie eating contest, then we’ll do the corn maze before we head to the farm exhibits.” 

 

Mike considered the large map of the county fair spread out on his basement table with the gravity of a five star General who was summarising his battle plans to the small war council gathered around his basement table. 

 

“Why are we leaving the corn maze to the end when it’s right next to sideshow alley?” Lucas’ finger landed on the cartoon green maze on the map. 

 

“Because last time we got stuck in there for ages before we’d eaten lunch. Remember? Dustin tried to eat the dried-out corn husks.” 

 

“Hey! I will have you know that corn husks are one of the main ingredients for tamales.” 

 

“You don’t actually eat the husks, it’s just the wrapping you moron,” Lucas laughed. Their bickering quickly devolved into a shoving and wrestling match. 

 

El looked over the map that Mike passed her, pushing her glasses up her nose. 

 

Ever since her “arrival” in Hawkins a few months ago, she’d started wearing glasses in public in the hopes that people she had previously encountered (like the Big Buy Manager or that woman with her young daughter) would find it difficult to connect the Chief’s shy and polite young daughter who had curly brown hair and glasses to the suspicious Russian child with mind powers. 

 

Dustin had assured her that the glasses were a very cool superhero disguise, like Clark Kent. Lucas had said that now El looked like she fit in with their party. 

 

Mike started to fold up his map of the fair grounds and put it away in his backpack. “Did the plan sound ok El? I wanted you to be able to try everything.” 

 

El nodded quickly, “Yes, I want to try everything too. It’ll be fun.” 

  
  


***

The fair was overwhelming. 

 

The smells were the first thing that assaulted her; animal excrement, human sweat, sweet hay, baking pastries and buttered popcorn wafted past her as they got deeper into the fairgrounds. 

 

Then there was the sounds, underneath the usual hum of conversations between people there were people screaming (happy screaming), loud music, babies sobbing, parents scolding their children all the while announcements about the sheep shearing competition blared at them over the loudspeakers. 

 

Jonathan and Nancy had quickly faded into the crowd after making plans to meet up with them at the fairground entrance at the end of the day. 

 

All of the carnival rides were garishly coloured and had funny names. El rode a rollercoaster called the Rampage which left her with sore neck due to its jarring stops and starts. Then she rode a ride called The Twister which spun her in tight circles while the arm the seats were attached to spun in larger circles. El had to sit down on the grass with her head between her legs for a long time before the world would stop spinning. 

 

Then they paired off to go on the bumper cars. El was left slightly traumatised by the experience. 

 

Dustin, Lucas and Max had conspired and formed some kind of unholy alliance and created a triangle around Mike and El’s car so that they couldn’t get away from any of them. Everytime Mike backed up and tried to go in another direction they slammed into one of their friends. 

 

“Going somewhere lovebirds?” Max had cackled like a deranged movie villain as she rammed her car repeatedly into theirs. 

 

After the bumper cars El looked over longingly at the gentle carousel ride which seemed to be for younger children. 

 

Mike had gotten into a wrestling match with Dustin and Lucas over being ambushed while Max egged the boys on and Will had been so quiet most of the day she almost didn’t notice him standing next to her until he asked, “El?” 

 

She looked around. Will gestured towards the next ride the party was planning on going on which involved being strapped to a seat that took you very high up in the sky and dropped you straight down back to the ground. 

 

“I don’t think I really want to go on that one. Do you wanna wait with me?” 

 

El hesitated, wondering if Mike would be disappointed if she didn’t want to go on the next ride. He had planned the entire day so meticulously to please her. She didn’t want to tell him that the thought of going on another ride made her break out into cold sweats, but Will was offering her a way to avoid this next ride at least, so El agreed. 

 

Mike was concerned of course, asking El if she wanted to go on the ride and offering to stay back with Will in her stead but El assured him that it was fine. 

 

While the others stood in line, Will said he wanted to get corn on the cob from a nearby food truck. El got one too, slathered in butter and salt. They sat on the grass in a shaded area to eat and wait. 

 

“You don’t have to keep going on all the rides if you don’t want to El.” 

 

El hesitated, but her instinct told her that anything she said to Will would be kept between the two of them. “Mike wants me to try everything.” 

 

Will gave her a small smile, “Mike wants to  _ enjoy _ yourself. He doesn’t want you to do something if you don’t want to. He’d be even more upset if he realised you were going along with everything just so you don’t disappoint him.” 

 

“But…” El was still unsure, “He has everything planned already.” 

 

Will shrugged, “He’ll throw his plans out the window the minute you say the word.” 

 

El wasn’t too sure what window Will was referring too but she understood what Will was trying to tell her. She looked longingly over at the carousel again. 

 

Will followed her line of sight. 

 

“C’mon, let’s go.” He took one last bite of his corn before he stood up and brushed off his shorts. 

 

El hesitated, “But...that’s for babies.” 

 

Will smiled, “Who says? Even if it is, who cares?” 

 

The line for the carousel was very short. El chose a white horse with a pink bridle and Will climbed onto a zebra next to her. 

 

El loved it. She spent most of the ride watching the little girl seated on a nearby horse waving and shrieking at her mother who snapped photos of her daughter every time they passed her. 

 

Mike and the rest of the Party were waiting for them when they got off the carousel. 

 

Mike was frowning and pulled her gently aside to ask her if she didn’t want to go on the next rides. El didn’t want to lie, so she told Mike honestly, “They make my head hurt.” 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

 

“You spent so much time planning the day.”  

 

“El, forget about the plan. I want to do whatever  _ you  _ want to do.” 

 

Mike was so earnest and his voice was soft, not angry or disappointed. El told him honestly, “I want to go see the farm animals.” 

 

So they did. 

 

After that, the day passed by in a blur. 

 

El got her face painted to look like a fairy even though the only girls she saw with the glitter face paint were a lot younger than her. Dustin got his face painted too so that El wouldn’t feel self-conscious about the only one in the group having her face painted. 

 

Of course he was a lion and they all had to put up with him purring and batting his hand at them like a paw during the rest of the day. 

 

They saw all the farm animals. El got very excited when she found out about the baby farm animal petting zoo. She fell in love with the baby llama she was allowed to cuddle and feed a bottle of milk. 

 

Then the party went to get lunch on deep fried boulevard. 

 

El had a chocolate milkshake, barbecued ribs, a deep fried twinkie, fairy floss, and shared funnel cake with Will. 

 

She also ate small pieces of spicy fried chicken, and tried a corn dog, which El found gross. 

 

They watched a pie eating contest and got lost in the corn maze. 

 

There was a new ride which was the main attraction at the fair called “Gravity Fall” modeled after a machine that astronauts trained in before they could go into space. 

 

For some reason the boys and Max got into a debate about whether any of them could survive astronaut training at NASA which led to a corn dog eating slash ride contest whereby whomever ate the most corn dogs and went on the Gravity Fall ride the most times without puking would be declared the winner. 

 

Will decided to sit out the contest because he said he didn’t want to waste his money on corn dogs which he would inevitably throw up. 

 

Mike and Lucas both had to tap out of the contest four corndogs and three rides in. El cradled Mike’s head in her lap while he moaned and complained about his stomach. 

 

Max was declared the winner after five rides when Dustin stumbled out and ran over to the nearest trash can and promptly emptied his stomach. 

 

“NASA here I come!” Max hollered, punching the air. 

 

*** 

Mike and Lucas set off towards the medical tent with a green tinged Dustin propped up between them. Max trailed after them because she said she felt like the needed to revel in her glorious victory over Dustin some more. 

 

They decided on a plan to meet up at the grassy knoll beside the Ferris wheel in half an hour’s time. 

 

El was left with Will who asked her if she wanted to go have a look at the fairground games. 

 

They wandered around the brightly lit games before Will stopped beside a shooting game to watch the people play. 

 

The sun was starting to set and it had dropped several degrees. El rubbed her arms and watched as a boy who looked about the same age as Jonathan try to shoot down several little targets shaped like people while the watchers cheered. He managed to get 3 out of the 8 little targets before he ran out of pellets. He laughed good naturedly and selected a small stuffed animal and presented to his girlfriend who squealed and laughed. 

 

El looked up at the range of stuffed animals hung up and displayed around the game stand and admired a huge teddy bear, at least three feet tall, with a snazzy pink polka-dot bowtie displayed prominently above their heads. 

 

She turned back to Will and asked him if it was possible for someone to win the stuffed bear. 

 

“I think you have to get all the targets, but nobody ever does.” 

 

“Why?” 

 

“Oh, because the games are rigged,” he explained. “That’s what my mom told me anyways, they do something to make it impossible for people to make the last target fall over. It makes people want to keep trying so they keep paying.” 

 

El frowned. “That’s cheating.” 

 

Will shrugged, “Yeah, it’s totally unfair.” 

 

Then Will surprised her by stepping forward and handing over a few dollar bills and picking up a rifle which was chained to the counter. 

 

El followed him in confusion, “I thought you said…”

 

“I know,” Will told her calmly, “but it’s still fun to play sometimes.” 

 

Will was really good. He managed to get five of the little people targets to fall over. 

 

El wondered if she should have whooped, jumped and cheered for Will like Max would have, but she did clap as hard as she could along with some other onlookers. 

 

Will smiled a little shyly at the attention. He chose a fluffy rainbow colored unicorn and held it out to El. 

 

“Here El, that’s for you.” 

 

El took the stuffed unicorn gingerly, already half in love with the oddly colored toy, not for any reason other than it was from Will. She smiled at him and started to say thank you when a loud obnoxious voice rang out. 

 

“Hey guys look at that! Ain’t that sweet? The fairy got himself a fairy girlfriend!” 

 

El and Will spun around. El’s eyes widened at the sight of Troy and a group of teenage boys jeering at Will. 

 

El instinctively reached to adjust the glasses on her nose to make sure they were there in case Troy recognised her, but he was too busy laughing, nudging his friends and pointing at Will to really notice her. 

 

Her face paint probably helped as well. 

 

Her panic faded and anger took its place when his words sunk in. 

 

Will’s smile faded and his shoulders hitched up to his ears like he wanted to disappear. He started to move away but Troy purposely shoved Will aside as he walked up to the game stand and picked up a rifle. “Let me show you how a real man shoots, fairy.” 

 

Will took El’s elbow and tugged. “C’mon El.” 

 

But El refused to budge. A white-hot ball of rage was rolling around in her tummy. 

 

_ Fairy. _

 

She remembered that word. 

 

She remembered how Troy had taunted Mike that Will was somewhere with all the other fairies when everyone was supposed to be grieving and sad that Will had drowned. 

 

Not Troy though. He’d laughed and made snide comments about Will that El hadn’t understood all through the principal’s speech in the school gym. 

 

El didn’t need to understand what the boy was saying, she gathered enough from Mike’s, Lucas’ and Dustin’s faces to know what he was saying about their friend was ugly and cruel and it made them angry. 

 

Angry enough for Mike to walk up to him afterwards and shove him to the ground.  

 

She hated this boy. Hated how he liked to make others feel smaller than him. She hated that he had used to hurt and bully Mike and her friends and that he was  _ still _ hurting Will. 

 

The rage inside her hardened and turned to steely resolve. 

 

She turned to Will and said calmly. “Will, can you try to win the bear for me?” 

 

Will frowned and looked up at the stuffed bear where it was hanging. “El...it’s not-,” 

 

“Just try.” 

 

She pulled Will along with her up to an empty space next to the Mouth breather. She handed over three dollars and shoved the rifle into Will’s hands. 

 

Will frowned at her, but picked up the rife while he studiously ignoring the catcalls coming over from Troy’s dumb friends while Troy laughed and taunted him. 

 

El concentrated as both the boys lifted their rifles to take aim. 

 

_ Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! _

 

All eight of Will’s targets fell over one after the other. 

 

(Actually the last one had been set up to be quite difficult to knock over just as Will had said). 

 

Will lowered his rifle in shock as the people around the stand erupted into cheers. His eyes shot over to El who gave him a little smile while she surreptitiously wiped at her nose. 

 

He looked over to where Troy was staring at his rifle, his own eight targets standing defiantly upright. 

 

“Holy Shit!”

 

“Woah, this kid’s got some skills!” 

 

The spotty teenager handling the rifle stand handed over the big teddy bear and Will started to hurry El away leaving behind a red faced Troy who had started to hurl abuse at the teenager about rigged games. 

 

El hefted the huge stuffed bear in her arms like a small child and Will graciously accepted congratulations and slaps on the back from strangers as they maneuvered themselves away from the crowd. 

 

“El….” Will was holding onto the unicorn for her. El braced herself for admonitions and was surprised when she heard Will snort. 

 

El stopped in her tracks as Will erupted into hysterical giggles. “Did you-did you see his stupid face?”

 

Their eyes met, and El recalled the look on Troy’s face as he stared slack jawed and speechless at Will’s knocked down targets and then she was laughing too. 

 

She stood there in the middle of the fair, the sun setting rapidly behind the horizon, and she laughed until tears ran down her cheeks and her sides ached and she could barely stay upright. Every time they stopped, it only took their eyes to meet before they started up again. 

 

***

 

Sometime later, as they started to head for the ferris wheel, El said to Will, “Can you...not tell the others I used my powers?” 

 

Will looked at her in surprise. “How come?” 

 

El bit her lip guiltily, “I promised Hopper I wouldn’t. And I think….Mike won’t like it.” 

 

Will considered this for a moment. “He worries about you.” 

 

She understood. 

 

Mike and Hopper were both worried and afraid for her. El had promised she wouldn’t use her powers or draw attention to herself and promises were sacred things that you could never break. 

 

But El remembered the sneer on Troy’s face and the way Will’s face had turned to stone at his words and felt a fierce pride that she could use her powers to make Will laugh until he cried. 

 

Most days she felt like her powers were a curse, a lodestone hung around her neck which meant that she was  _ different _ and set her apart from her friends. But not today, today her powers had felt like a gift, not a cumbersome weight pulling her down. 

 

Will stopped walking and turned to her. “Hey,” he said gently, “Thank you. El. That was...really cool.” 

 

He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, squishing the teddy bear between their bodies. El held on to him tight. “Thanks for, you know, having my back. Again.” 

 

When he let her go, El looked at him, really looked at him. He had grown a lot taller since last year, but he was still so skinny. The perpetual eyebags he sported had taken up residence and faded into violet bruises on his too pale skin. 

 

El took his hand and gave it a squeeze, and promised him solemnly, “I will always have your back Will.  _ Always _ .” Then. “Thank you for my unicorn and my bear.” 

 

They shared a grin. 

 

Promises were important. But what had happened at the shooting stand had nothing to do with breaking a promise, and everything to do with helping a friend, and El thought that that made all the difference in the world. 

 

Will and El arrived to find that the rest of the Party were already there waiting for them. Dustin was looking a lot better, taking gentle sips from a bottle a nurse in the medical tent had given him. 

 

El’s new teddy bear caused quite a commotion amongst the party. Will said he had gotten lucky with no mention of Troy. Will was showered with praise and back slaps and it took El a moment to realise Mike was eyeing the enormous teddy bear with something like dismay. 

 

El immediately thought that that Mike had seen right through Will’s story before her eyes were drawn to the pink ball of fluff he was clutching in his hands. He sighed and held it out to her. It was a stuffed llama just like the one she had been cooing over at the petting zoo. 

 

El’s eyes widened. She quickly turned to Lucas and hurriedly shoved her teddy into his arms so that she could take the stuffed llama. Mike shoved his hands awkwardly into his pockets. “It’s no big deal, I won it at the ring toss.” 

 

“Yeah, no big deal,” Lucas scoffed, “He spent like twenty bucks trying to get that for you El.” 

 

Mike rolled his eyes, but El felt funny, like her insides were turning to hot liquid and pooling in her tummy. She couldn’t stop the pleased blush she knew was spreading over her cheeks and neck that everyone would be able to see. 

 

“Mike,” she raised herself up to her toes and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, not caring that all their friends was sniggering and that Mike looked extremely embarrassed. “Thank you. I love my llama.” 

 

Will called out, “Hey, I didn’t get a kiss.” That comment, coming from Will of all people, caused everyone but Mike to burst out laughing. 

 

When her giggles died down, El found Mike staring at her with a funny look on his face. 

 

She tucked a strand of hair around her ear self consciously, “What?” 

 

“Nothing,” he said quickly. Mike took El’s hand and gestured to the Ferris Wheel. “Do you wanna go? It’s pretty slow and you can see the whole fair from the top.” 

 

El smiled at him, “Yes.” 

 

She took the stuffed llama with her and left her teddy in the care of Dustin who used it as a pillow while he was resting on the grass.

 

They ran into Jonathan and Nancy while lining up for the Ferris Wheel. Nancy smirked at her brother and gave El a friendly smile. “Hey there pretty fairy, did you have fun today?” 

 

“Yes,” El said, really meaning it. She held up her llama to show Nancy, “Mike won me a llama at the ring toss. And Dustin threw up from eating too many corn dogs.” 

 

Jonathan and Nancy let her and Mike go in front of them in the line. Mike opened the door of their car to let her get in first before ducking in after her. 

 

Mike’s arm went around her shoulders automatically as their little car rocked gently at first before it steadily began its ascent. 

 

El peeked out of the side to see that the whole fair was lit up with fairy lights and the noise grew fainter the higher up they moved. 

 

She snuggled closer to Mike, tucking her head under his chin and closed her eyes, enjoying the steady beat of his heart and this rare opportunity to be alone with him. 

 

“El.” She smiled, her eyes still closed. 

 

“Mike.” 

 

She felt him shift to look down at her. “I...I’m glad you’re here. With me. With all of us.” 

 

“Me too.” 

 

“Were you happy today?” El opened her eyes and peeked up at his solemn face. 

 

“The happiest.” 

 

“I wish you could to be happy like this. Everyday.” 

 

“Mike,” El sat up so she could look at him while they talked. “Nobody can be happy like this everyday.” 

 

“ _ You _ should be. You deserve it, you deserve...everything.” 

 

El stilled. 

 

She looked up at Mike’s serious expression, feeling something big building up inside her, a huge cluster of emotions that felt too explosive and too volatile for her body to contain. 

 

It frightened her a little, this feeling, it felt like it could spill out of her and swallow the Earth whole. 

 

She didn’t know what she could say to him to express how she felt at that moment, how much she felt for  _ him _ , so she kissed him. 

 

It helped a bit, to feel his lips, his shaky exhale against her skin, to wind her fists in the fabric of his t-shirt to pull him closer to her. It grounded her. 

 

When they pulled apart sometime later they realised they were coming close back to the ground. They unglued themselves from each other sharing shy but pleased smiles. 

 

When they met up with the party again, she saw Will stealthily make a face wiping motion at Mike. 

 

Mike quickly swiped at his cheek and stared when his fingers came away covered in glitter. El tried to smother a giggle when Mike tugged up the collar of his shirt to wipe at his face. 

 

He spun around when he heard her, a big smile on his face. 

 

El just made a face at him. She was more than a little embarrassed that Mike was so excited to hear her do something that most people did everyday. 

 

“You’ve still got glitter on your chin.” She told him smugly. 

 

***

 

One morning, El woke up huddled under her blankets, and realised that the transition to autumn had already begun. 

 

Over breakfast, Hopper told her she had better clean up the mess in her room if she wanted to go out with the Byers to get her school supplies later. 

 

Surprised, El went to her bedroom to look at the mess Hopper was referring to. 

 

The teddy that Will had won for her at the fair was lying face down in the middle of the room at the foot of her bed. She hadn’t made up her bed yet, and her stuffed unicorn and llama were tangled up in the bedsheets. 

 

Mike’s blue jacket which she had borrowed from him last night along with yesterday’s t-shirt, bra, and shorts were hanging haphazardly off her desk chair. 

 

Some shopping bags containing new clothes, a new backpack and shoes for school were lying carelessly around her bedroom. 

 

Her camping gear from last week’s camping trip was still sitting in the corner waiting to be unpacked. 

 

The vanity she’d recently inherited from Nancy had scrunchies and hair clips strewn across the surface. 

 

Dustin had come over yesterday to teach her to play poker (because apparently she had an amazing poker face and if Dustin taught El how to count cards they could go on a trip to Vegas and come home rich) and the cards and plastic chips were still scattered in small piles on the floor. 

 

A stack of photographs which she’d recently received from Jonathan was spread out over her desk where she had been sorting through them last night before bed. 

 

There were so many photos of her smiling at the camera with her friends from their adventures over the past few months, she had been trying to decide which ones she wanted to hang up in her room. 

 

She’d decided then that all the photos would go up on her walls so that she could treasure every single precious memory of Jane Hopper’s first summer in Hawkins. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that’s that. 
> 
> I know that it makes absolutely no sense that there would be a corn maze at a fair in the middle of summer. The original plan was for the kids to go in autumn, but after I changed the season to summer I was too tickled by the idea of Dustin trying to eat corn husks while getting lost in a maze so I kept it in there. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it dear reader. 
> 
> I may write a sequel about El having to attend dinner with the Wheelers. I also want to devote a whole story to developing the El/Max friendship. I wanted to fit some more El/Max stuff in here but it didn’t seem to really fit because the awkward tension really worked for me. 
> 
> I also want to explore the Jonathan/Will/El sibling relationship. I adore El/Will, in case you guys didn't notice. I can’t wait to see what they do with those two troubled kids next season. 
> 
> Please leave a review! Or head over to my tumblr to squee about Stranger Things with me!


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